Protective headgear and helmets have been used in a wide variety of applications and across a number of industries including sports, athletics, construction, mining, military defense, and others, to prevent damage to a user's head and brain. Damage and injury to a user can be prevented or reduced by helmets that prevent hard objects or sharp objects from directly contacting the user's head. Damage and injury to a user can also be prevented or reduced by helmets that absorb, distribute, or otherwise manage energy of an impact.
For helmet-wearing athletes in many applications, such as sports, beyond the safety aspects of the protective helmet, additional considerations can include helmet fit and airflow through the helmet. Improvements in fit comfort and airflow can reduce distractions to the athlete and thereby improve performance. The multi-body helmet construction and a strap attachment device, as disclosed in this document, relate to safety, as well as improvements in fit, airflow, and comfort without reducing safety for customers.
An aspect of providing a proper fit between a user's head and the helmet can include the straps that are used to couple the helmet to the head of the user. FIG. 1 shows a strap anchor or ski type strap anchor 10 that has been conventionally used for in-molded helmets, including ski helmets or other snow helmets, for coupling a strap to the in-molded helmet. The strap anchor 10 can comprise two basic portions, i) a strap anchor body 14, which can include the opening 12 and ii) a web, reinforcing attachment, fins, parachutes, anchoring geometry, or reinforcing attachment point 16 that couples the strap anchor 10 to a helmet or helmet body.
The opening 12 of the strap anchor 10 can receive a strap can be inserted into the opening to couple the strap to the strap anchor 10. Afterwards, the strap can then couple the ski helmet to a head of a user. When the strap anchor 10 is coupled to the helmet, the web 16 of the strap anchor 10 can be disposed within an energy-absorbing material or layer of the helmet, such as a layer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam or other suitable material. The web 16 can be sufficiently large, and include sufficient anchoring geometry, to secure the strap anchor 10 to the helmet by fixing the web 16 within the energy-absorbing material and remain firmly coupled during impacts. When the ski anchor 10 is coupled to a helmet body, the web 16 can be imbedded within the helmet body.
The strap or webbing of the helmet can be coupled to the strap anchor 10 by forming a loop in an end of the strap and inserting a pin through the loop of strap. Then, the pin and the loop of the strap can be passed through the opening 12 and disposed within the strap anchor body 14. When the strap is coupled to the strap anchor 10, the strap anchor body 14 is conventionally disposed at an edge of the helmet to allow for access to the opening 12. As such, at least a portion of the strap anchor 10, and particularly at least a portion of the strap anchor body 14, remains visible to the helmet user and others observing the user wearing the helmet.